ZED SOUNDS

I'm not sure if I support a plastic bag ban. I use all the bags I get my groceries for garbage or other such uses, saving me from having to buy plastic kitchen waste bags or lunch bags (which would defeat the purpose). I usually do my shopping after coming off the TTC on my way home. I'm not going to want to carry around a heavier vinyl bag just in case I think of picking a few groceries up. There has to be a more creative way to solve this problem.
Sean Marshall, Toronto

I think eliminating plastic bags and replacing them with reusable bags is a great idea. However, I was not impressed when one grocery retailer was offering ridiculously small reusable bags that rendered them useless. On top of that they were charging 99 cents. Why charge for these bags and not the plastic bags? It should be the other way around. Why is it so difficult for those in charge to make the logical choice?
Paul Pannozzo, Etobicoke

Next we'll be forced to reduce the amount of organic waste we create on account of not having any plastic bags to put in the green bin.
Jay Borvin, Toronto

Proposing a ban is just silly. Pet owners rely on plastic bags to clean up animal waste. Homeowners use the plastic bags in their green bins, not to mention the re-uses these bags get for carrying lunches to work or school! Leave plastic bags out of it and focus on something significant like car emissions.
Stephanie Geosits, Toronto

I'm interested in knowing what all the dog owners are going to use. They use tons of plastic bags to scoop the poop. They should definitely be targeted. They use a huge bag for a teeny bit of refuse.
Christine Szymanski, Toronto

I like my plastic bags and they save me buying additional bags to pick up my dog's mess. Hey, this just means that there will be additional bags at the checkout for me. Thanks.
Mark Boyce, Toronto

In the Netherlands, you have to purchase plastic bags from grocery stores. When Dutch people do their grocery shopping at supermarkets and smaller shops, they bring their own large shopping bags made of cloth or plastic, which you can purchase at supermarkets or kitchen and appliance stores. Bringing your own shopping bags also reduces the number of plastic bags you accumulate at home and eventually end up throwing out.
Susan Redelaar, Amsterdam

Yes, but not until publishers stop cutting our forests for newsprint.
Phillip Adler, Thornhill

Not only should supermarkets be encouraged to give up their plastic, but companies like Sears (who do waste a lot of plastic), The Bay, Home Outfitters, etc., need to be encouraged to asked customers if they want a bag or not, and have some kind of rewards program set up.
Nora McClure, North York

Ban plastic shopping bags and two things will happen: 1. Our city will instantly smell like a toilet due to the number of people not picking up after their dogs; 2. The Green bin program will falter. People will not be putting food directly in the bin because there is no way people will be keeping a bin around their properties that has leftover garbage fermenting in it because garbage collectors failed to completely empty the bins. I for one will not be washing out the bin.
Dan Flanagan, Toronto

I remain dumb founded at the fact that people do not want to ban plastic bags and refuse to pay for them in the stores. Having lived in Europe for two years it is standard practice that you pay for your plastic shopping bags at all grocery stores. All other stores tended to use paper shopping bags of some sort. We just don't get it here in Canada.
Sabrina Sartori, Toronto

Source: thestar.com

1. Strange Matters by Tom Siegfried
2. A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller, Jr
3. Night Train by Martin Amis
4. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
5. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
6. What We All long For by Dionne Brand
I'll let you know what I think as I finish each one.